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Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Leaf (neé Greig) (b. July 12, 1966) is an Olivier-award British winning actress whose most notable roles include Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books and Dr. Caroline Todd in Green Wing. She has also appeared in Jane Austen's Emma, Shaun of the Dead and Love Soup. Biography Early life Greig is of Jewish, Polish and Scottish ethnicity and was raised in Camden in London. She then moved to Kilburn when she was three with her two sisters. She attended Malorees Junior School, followed by Camden School for Girls where she got A-Levels in English ("A"), French ("A") and Maths ("D"), and then attended University of Birmingham where she recieved first class honours degree in Drama and Theatre Arts. She worked as a temp at the Family Planning Association until 1996. She also attended secretarial college before moving back to London in 1996. Despite never planning to move back to London, her father was dying and she wanted to comfort him. Radio career Greig has starred as Debbie Aldridge in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers since 1991. Due to Greig's other commitments, she cannot appear in the show all the time and her character Debbie spends most of her time in Hungary. Greig has also appeared in radio comedy and is famous for her roles as Gayle Shand, a rival to Prentiss McCabe and Charles Prentiss's former lover, in the second series of the rasio version of Absolure Power. Greig is famous for bursting into laughter, or corpsing, during her more comic roles. Television and cinema career One of Greig's first television appearances was in 1999 on an advertisement for insurance in which she gave birth. Coincidentally, the advertisement was filmed only three weeks before she gave birth to her first son. She went on to appear in minor parts in various TV shows (e.g. Lamia in Neverwhere (1996) and the Mother in an episode of People Like Us (2000). However, her first major role was in Black Books, in which she starred alongside Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey as Fran Katzenjammer, a neurotic shopkeeper. The show ran from 2000 to 2004. Her role as Fran Katzenjammer gained her international fame and her next major role saw her acting alongside Black Books co-stars Dylan Moran and Simon Pegg in the 2004 comedy horror film, Shaun of the Dead. She went on to have a minor role in Doctor Who, before staring as Dr. Caroline Todd in the medical comedy drama series, Green Wing. This role earned her the Best Comedy Performance award at the 2005 Royal Television Society Awards. She then went on to star as Alice Chenery in the BBC comedy drama series, Love Soup, in 2005, a role specifically written for her by David Renwick, a friend of hers whom she met in 2003 while filming an episode of Jonathan Creek. She has since appeared as Edith Frank in the 2009 documentary, The Diary of Anne Frank, and as Miss Bates in the BBC drama serial, Jane Austen's Emma. She also presented a BRIT Award in 2006. Theatrical career From 2006 to 2007, Greig starred as Beatrice in the Shakespeare stage show Much Ado About Nothing, for which she recieved a Laurence Olivier Award. She then appeared as Constance in King John, as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Complete Works season. She then went on to become the first woman to win the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Shakespearean Performance in Much Ado About Nothing, and was nominated for The FRANCO'S Best Actress in a Play award in the Whatsonstage Theatregoers' Choice Awards. In 2008, Greig co-starred in the surreal sci-fi film Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth. She went on to appear in the award-winning play, God of Carnage, at the Gielgud Theatre in March 2008. She debuted in National Theatre in the Daiv Hare play, Gethsemane. She is currently starring in the The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane at the Garrick Theatre in London. Personal life Greig is married to fellow actor Richard Leaf, with whom she has three children: two boys (born 1999 and 2001) and one daughter (born 2005). The names of the children have not been publicised, although it is known that all of the childrens' middle names begin with the letter 'Z', and they are affectionately known as the 'Leaflets'. She met Leaf at on the set of Neil Gaiman's 1996 miniseries Neverwhere, and is somewhat embarrassed by the fact that since their marraige, Greig is occasionally called Mrs. T Leaf. Her hobbies included parachute jumping and trampolining before becoming a mother. She has stated that she is often mistaken for Sharleen Spiteri, the lead singer of the band Texas, the impressionist Ronni Ancona, the comedian Sue Perkins and is even states that she is sometimes mistaken for a man. Greig is a supporter of the National Health Service, giving her support to a rally organised by pro-NHS protest group NHS Together. She also supports more practical teaching of Shakespeare in British schools, supporting the RSC's 'Stand Up For Shakespeare' manifesto. She currently resides with her family in a flat in Kensal Green, London. Filmography Behind the scenes *Greig has two sisters, one older and one younger than her. Her younger sister, Abigail, is a primary school teacher, and her older sister, Dorcas, is an adult education lecturer. *In 2008, Greig submitted a drawing into the National Doodle Campaign, in which celebrity 'doodles' were auctioned off for charity. *Greig is a commited Christian, after converting from being an atheist in 1997. *She considers Smack the Pony as her biggest influence. *She enjoys swimming, shopping and walking in her local park. External links *Tamsin Greig on Wikipedia *Tamsin Greig on IMDb *Tamsin Greig on TV.com Greig, Tamsin